I'm wondering about this too. I think the biggest failure of the Wii U is that Gamepad, god love it, never materialized as a revolution in actual game play.

Off screen TV play was the real benefit, and watershed for console gaming in my opinion, not shoehorned elements of game play. But still, its a feature, and a peripheral, not a main attraction.

They should double down on the Wii U, and bundle it without the gamepad, but with a pro controller for a cool $199.99. And also a bare bones one with a Wiimote for $149. Then keep on making classic Nintendo software in HD and it would sell like hotcakes.

Federation Force is going to be fun. I honestly think the biggest issue was the generic characters. If it was shown to be Samus working together with the bounty hunters from Hunters than this would be a totally different conversation. Nearly everyone would be stoked.

I do. I guess my response to that is that they didn't actually have a proper launch title. It was supposed to be NSMBU, but that came out along side NSMB2 which I bought on my 3DS...so there was zero incentive for me to drop $299 on the Wii U at that point, and I waited till 1/14 before pulling the trigger.

With that in mind, the compelling feature simply would have been a Super Wii. Nintendo finally in HD. MK8 is as much a jump from MKWii as SMW was from SMB3. What if they waited a year, and launched SM3DW with the Gamepadless Super Wii for $199?

They're moving away from the Wii U now, but I think they could still jettison the Gamepad for significant price drop.

@holygeez03 Exactly. While I believe the Gamepad should have been left out of a basic Wii U bundle, Off TV play is a revelation.

Letting my wife watch whatever show she wants as I hang out on the same couch with headphones and the Gamepad is amazing. This is the biggest deal - not whatever game play gimmicks they come up with for a few select titles.

Now what I really want is the ability to play Wii U games on my 3DS Off TV. I'm betting the NX will be something along those lines. The NX and the new 3DS need to work together seamlessly.

I hear that, and I'm super stoked for Super Mario Maker, but that's only a small handful of titles (and none of them must buy heavy hitters) where the Wiimote could have served as a serviceable stand in for the stylus.

The major problem is that they didn't do enough with the Gamepad to warrant such a steep spike in price. $199 in this generation is a steal, while $299 makes you think twice. SMBU, SM3DW, DKCTF, CT:TT, MK8, WWHD, SSB, P3, YWW...none of these actually require a Gamepad.

I should not have had to buy one in order to play those games.

That being said, I love NintendoLand with a passion only a Nintendo Loyalist could have. It's a blast, and a treasure, but its not a system seller, and not enough to warrant a mandatory Gamepad.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Gamepad. It's just not a system necessity. They proved this by never delivering a game wholly dependent on it. It's a super awesome add-on, but it also made the system nearly twice as expensive as it could have been. Part of the originals Wii's success was its super low price point. They should have tested the waters with it as an advanced peripheral before making it the defining feature of a console.

1) Wii U should have been called Super Wii2) Basic Super Wii comes bundled with one pro controller at $2003) Super Wii Gamepad released as an optional $150 peripheral and included in a deluxe $300 bundle.4) Off screen TV should have been the central marketing focus for the Super Wii Gamepad.

They can still do this. I LOVE my Gamepad, but it's a peripheral, first and foremost. The name Wii U SOUNDS like a peripheral. Super Wii, however, sounds like a new system. If I could have bought a Super Wii for $199 I would thrown down at launch instead of waiting for a year and half.

@kenlawson Chibi Robo has always been chock full of mini games and spin off activities within his own games. He's a perfect candidate to receive his own 2D platformer. I'm just hoping it will feature the chibi blaster and the Drake Redcrest suit.

I remember the Wii glory days when Miyamoto was talking about ten year plus hardware cycles. Wii came a lot closer to that than Wii U, and it's really a shame. Such a great system that so few understand. This E3 pretty much confirmed they're putting all their major efforts behind NX and mobile right now. They ARE working on stuff - just can't tell us yet.

@MadAdam81 I actually don't fully disagree with your post. I love new IPs as much as the next guy but, theoretically speaking, if the line up I just mentioned was announced (plus Zelda Wii U of course) at this years E3 the internet would have exploded ten times over...and for all the right reasons.

I see no problems with updates and sequels. But in doing so they should also release one AAA new IP per year (like Splatoon), and continue to update their storied catalog with new adventures in classic and time tested gameplay.

This is a shame. They don't need to kill the Wii U to be successful. They just need to reiterate that the best part of the Gamepad is off screen play when your family wants to use the TV, and just pour all their resources into:

To be fair - the game looks fun, and fast paced, and I will definitely buy it. Next Level Games killed Punch Out!! and Dark Moon so I have no doubt they'll rock this one. That being said, the short non informative trailer made it seem like Nintendo just slapped the Metroid brand on something where it might not belong in order to ramp up sales. Personally, I think Metroid fans just want a faithful recreation of the franchise in the same vein of New Super Mario Bros. and A Link Between Worlds. Those time tested franchises got a nice update, and Metroid is no different. I just beat Fusion for the first time, and would love to see a 2.5 Metroid without the terribly boring and often offensive cut scenes of Other M. Still though, I'm gonna buy Federation Force. Maybe since everyone is so angry, Next Level will included Samus and other Bounty Hunter Skins???

Hard to disagree with the majority here. I actually didn't witness the Wii Music disaster but this was easily the worst Nintendo E3 I've ever seen. Everyone watches the expo to see the reveal of major unannounced games, and there simply wasn't any this time around. Star Fox looks great, but we saw it last year. E3 is thought of by many as a gamer's Christmas, except this year we basically woke up to find that our parents just re-wrapped our old toys and shoved them under the tree. Huge disappointment.

This game is fantastically addicting. I love it and only wish there was a way to share parks with other players. If they ever remake the game, an online park sharing mode would be ideal. I would say that the real fun of the game comes after you beat it. Then you can create whatever type of park you want, and play around in it with two cars, a bike, a canoe, a chopper, and a boom box, among other tools.

I too would love another true 3D Chibi Robo, but I praise the ingenuity here. We're getting a 2D Chibi Robo for the first time, and if it sells well they'll hopefully localize and release a remastered Rich Big Sweep (which is the true 3D sequel to Plug Into Adventure).

Also, I have a strong feeling he'll make it into Smash.

And don't forget about Park Patrol! If it had updated graphics I'd call it my favorite in the series.

HOT TIP: Find a room with semi-decent lighting, use a the Kid Icarus 3DS stand for support, steady your hand, and DRAW the outline of the film object on a white piece of paper. You'll 100% it nearly every time.

This will get you through the photo taking portions, and back to normal Chibi Robo game play as quickly as possible.

Every Chibi Robo game has an element of tedium, but a large reward waits on the other end of your unrecognized hard work.

@pikminfan22 I'm looking forward to everything at E3 but nothing will top Zip Lash. After Photo Finder (which I actually really like) I never dreamed we'd get a Chibi Robo side-scroller. Now if only they'd localize Happy Rich Big Sweep!

Chibi Robo game looks awesome. Always great to see him get a new game, despite his grab bag history. I actually loved Photo Finder and that sweet Blue/Yellow vacuum, but I suspect this 2D Platformer could bring him out of the first party deep cuts and into the limelight.

More tracks, karts, players and mii suits without question. A true battle mode expansion would be awesome. I'd also really like the ability to choose my teammates and opponents in Team Game. I hate being on Team Mario and riding with Bowser and co. Makes no sense. I'd love to create a squad and challenge people in an online team mode.

Since MK8 is literally perfection incarnate I will buy any DLC for it any day of the week. Who cares about MK9? If MK8 turns out to be an infinite loop with new tracks released every 6 months I'll be in MK Heaven. It's PERFECT - just keep adding tracks, characters and karts. I'm totally on board with endless expansion packs.

8/10 is an understandable score since it lacks a few bells and whistles but the gameplay is 10/10. An absolute must buy for Nintendo junkies and puzzle fans alike. Captain Toad is the people's champion, Tom. Tread lightly

The missed opportunity here is not that Mario and Luigi are the playable characters but that Wario is NOT the villain. The had an opportunity here to differentiate this title even further from NSMBU by making Wario the villain and they totally whiffed on a no brainer. That being said, I hope they continue on with the coin rush DLC because I think its excellent, and hopefully they'll have a Wario themed pack complete with an End Boss.

I guess $7.50 is a touch pricey for 9 new levels, and, yes, Coin Challenge Pack A is indeed a little bland, but only because the Gold Rush Pack and the Nerve Wrack Pack are arguable better than anything else in the entire main game. The first level of Gold Rush could very have been the first level of the main game, and it would have been better for it. Nowhere in the game do you get to have fun with the Gold Flower in abundance but this pack really delivers, and with great design to boot. Coin Pack A is good, but doesn't have a a cohesive theme as the other two. The Nerve Wrack Pack takes the cake. I spent the whole weekend trying to beat it, and finally did late Sunday night. Great old school Mario challenge delivering exactly what the hard core fans have been clamoring for for years. Nintendo is on to something if they can deliver a main game for a wider audience and then pump out these super tough DLC challenges for all us All-Stars!

I wholly support this enterprise. I also appreciate it took Nintendo so long to get to this point because they err on the side of delivering a fully polished game first. Nevertheless there are consumers who have completed the challenges of the game and are willing to purchase more content. And here's why its awesome: Nintendo can now cater to different audiences. By offering the 3 packs they offer levels for beginners, intermediates, and Mario All-Stars! I for one am thrilled because from a larger business perspective I understand why Nintendo has kept the difficulty of its 2D Mario games down, but talented Mario players are now given the chance to take on true "hardcore" challenges via DLC. This is a win win situation for everyone. Day one buy. Now if we could only get new Mario Kart 7 courses....

This game is a bonafide masterpiece. True, its not very difficult for hardened veterans, but it's got so much charm and character, and the marine platforming gameplay is pure bliss. Starfy has a pretty diverse move set, and he's secretly my favorite Nintendo character! I just hope they either translate the earlier games or continue with the franchise. A 3DS or Wii Ware game would be sublime!

Just picked it up and I'm blowing through it. How anyone can complain about this game is beyond me. It's the most refined I've ever seen the formula, plus its got co-op for dual 3DS' and it looks fantastic in 3D. And the Coin Rush adds a really awesome amount of replay value - and to think that we're going to get new DLC...? This is amazing ladies & gentlemen, and a true service to the fans. Miyamoto said early on that they're going to have to keep producing both 3D and 2D Mario...but I didn't realize that would be the case for both handhelds and consoles each! They're giving us a the classic style, and innovation is right around the corner. It ALWAYS is with Mario! Keep the faith!